Sometimes I would pretend that I had friends in my muggle neighborhood. I really didn't though, except for my cat, Melon. I did have friends, I'm not that much of a loser, they just weren't here. They were all at Hogwarts. The four of us met on the first day, but not on the train. We met at the Gryffindor table after being sorted. I met the marauders on the train, but that's another story altogether. Lily was my friend, but she lived in Spinners End. I wasn't allowed to go there, ridiculous actually. Alice was my friend, but she was two hours away, and we can't apparate yet. Marlene was my friend, but I don't like her all that much. Lily and Alice were my buffer zone. They filtered what I said to people who didn't understand me. And then there was Hestia, who did live down the street; but she was another one who needed the buffer. Hestia was too nice and happy for me to feel natural. It wasn't right for anyone to smile that much. Of course Harley refused to drive or apparate me anywhere. She's just jealous because she never had any friends at Hogwarts. I did, but I know why nobody liked me at primary school.
I was abrasive, rude, far too honest, judgmental, and moody. Harley was the reason I was so defensive. After our uncles died, she became cold-hearted, and I took after her. I know why I had friends in the first place, I was rather pretty. Everyone said so. My mother was no stunner herself, so I don't know where it came from. She had brown eyes, I had blue. She had brown hair, I had blonde. Maybe not that pretty, but unique at the least. She and dad died on a plane ride to Jamaica. It all could have been avoided had they just apparated, but no. My mother's brother died three years earlier, in April. Some experiment of his gone wrong. Well he wasn't really dead, just comatose, until May 3rd. Which, coincidentally, is the day his twin died as well. Harley used to tell me that everyone was freaked by the girl with so much death in her family that she was dying herself. I guess I never really believed that was true until fifth grade, right after my second uncle had died.
I was sitting by myself outside, waiting for my friends to be done with their lunch. I loved lunch because all my friends were in the other teachers' classes. After lunch came recess, so we could play together. My friends had just come out of their classroom for recess.
"Did you see her yesterday? All moping and serious. Who wants to be around that?" Everyone laughed and I stood up from my spot on the wall, about to say something. Not one of them turned around, but my best friend glanced my way. I knew she knew I'd heard. She shrugged and scuttled ahead to play with the jump rope like the others.
That day I came home and told Harley and all she had to say was, "I have to go to work."
That's when I knew I'd lost my sister, too. My friends were right, my whole family was already dying.
Printer Friendly Version
